US, Qatar agree to block Iran from accessing $6 bln deal fund: WashPo
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The transfer of Iran's unfrozen funds in South Korea to bank accounts in Qatar, as part of a prisoner exchange deal with the US, was expected to be completed in September.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Washington on November 12, 2021 (AP)
Two anonymous sources told The Washington Post that Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told House Democrats on Thursday that US and Qatari officials agreed to prevent Iran from accessing $6 billion in frozen funds after Hamas' Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
In September, the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that the transfer of Iran's unfrozen funds in South Korea to bank accounts in Qatar, as part of a prisoner exchange deal with the US, was expected to be completed.
The US claims Hamas received its weapons from Iran, an allegation that has not been proven or substantiated in any way.
According to Adeyemo, the money was "not going anywhere anytime soon."
Iran’s mission to the United Nations responded by stating that “The senators in question and the U.S. government are all acutely aware that they can NOT renege on the agreement. The money rightfully belongs to the people of Iran, earmarked for the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to facilitate the acquisition of all essential and non-sanctioned requisites for the Iranians.”
According to Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, rescinding the funding will only increase tensions between Iran and the US and amplify voices within the country who previously opposed engaging with the West.
Parsi speculated that Iran would "tilt toward building a bomb."
Tehran has reiterated several times that its nuclear program is only intended to be used for peaceful purposes and that Iran has no intentions of ever producing a nuclear weapon.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has even issued a fatwa (religious decree) declaring that the acquisition, development, and use of nuclear weapons violated Islamic principles and were therefore forbidden.
